If you’re seeing solar panels go up in your neighborhood, you might be wondering– Is Charlottesville a good place to install solar? We’re a local solar installer, so we certainly think so, but below you’ll see some of the special incentives, tools, and solar potential that makes Charlottesville a great city for solar.
Charlottesville City Solar Tax Credit
Cville wants you to go solar! If your home is located in the City of Charlottesville, your solar installation is eligible for an additional tax credit of almost 5%. This credit applies for five years, and reduces the property taxes you would pay. With the current tax rate of 0.96%, the solar tax credit on a $30,000 project would be $30,000 x 0.96% = $288 per year, or $1,440 over five years.
How sunny is Charlottesville, VA?
Ok, it’s not as sunny as Tampa, FL, but Charlottesville’s mild weather makes it great for solar! Charlottesville has an annual solar radiation of 4.93kWh / m2 / day , which is 22% more than the green city of Portland, OR and 5% less than Boulder, CO.
To encourage Charlottesville locals to go solar the City also released a Rooftop Potential tool, which allows you to view your rooftop and get an idea of how much solar potential is available! While it’s not as precise as our free solar assessment, it’s a great starting point to seeing if your property is right for solar.
Good local solar companies
While many national companies offer expensive products with sub-par installation practices, Charlottesville has several great local installers. We build quality into every aspect of our designs and back it up with a 25-year service warranty. We also install the highest-quality components on the market, like Enphase Microinverters, and REC panels. We’re the only certified Enphase Gold installer in Charlottesville, and we’re an REC Certified Installer, which gives our customers the extended REC ProTrust warranty, adding a huge value to quality of install. Charlottesville is our home, and our goal is to help our community invest in solar systems that will perform for the long-haul.
Federal tax credit
The Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) offers homeowners a 30% credit on the cost of solar projects. Projects begun before 2032 are eligible for the full 30% tax credit.
SRECs
SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Credits) are essentially carbon-credits, which can be sold automatically, generating 20 – 30% additional value from your solar!
Is it easy to go solar in Charlottesville?
We’ve been installing in the Charlottesville area since 2015, and are lucky to have a city and utility company that are easy to work with. While some cities have difficult paperwork and unnecessary roadblocks, we have streamlined the paperwork process so going solar is as easy as can be.
Charlottesville has a simple application process, and Dominion offers net-metering to customers, which help get the most value out of your solar system.